Shall we get rid of our AGA?

[oz2308]

Our electric AGA with companion is about 20 years' old. Beautiful to look at but was costing us around £5K pa in electricity when left on constantly so we had it adapted around 18 months ago and now you have to turn it on and off like any conventional oven. So now our electricity bills are far lower BUT we don't get any of the advantages of an AGA any more and the oven takes ages to heat up and even then I am not sure it is getting hot enough. So I think it is time to change to something else. I would be interested to hear peoples' views on electric (not induction) range ovens (we are rural and don't have gas). Thank you

I have the Smeg electric range and love it. I know someone else locally with an electric aga that’s also been switched off for costing £100 pw in electricity!

Don't have advice, but 5k a year to keep the Aga going. Blimey!! In our old house, the aga was the only way to cook too - so we couldn't even switch it off during heatwaves. Absolutely loathed it. We've got a stack of Neff ovens in our new house, which I love, but obvs couldn't slot in where the aga went.

The only reason we kept ours in our last house was the bother and expense of the removal, when we knew we weren’t planning to stay.

We have a stoves range cooker which I am very happy with. It is fully electric with a 5 ring induction hob. It has a slow cooker oven, which we use a lot as well as 2 full sized ovens and a half sized oven which can also be used a s a grill. Both large ovens also have a dough warming function.

Why do you say not induction?
Non induction hobs are slow and unresponsive and annoying.

Yes, probably best to get rid of the aga. But in terms of alternatives, could you install solar panels?

I would seriously urge you to consider a cooker with an induction hob. So much better than a standard electric hob, heats instantly and a doddle to clean.

So was previously on, using power and heating a room, 365 days per year?

I can see why people like the style of them but they’ve always seemed like something from a bygone era to me…

Perhaps they made more sense in the days when energy costs were lower and central heating wasn’t as ubiquitous.

Would you be able to sell it? We had a kitchen with a lot of units and dark marble worktops that weren’t to our taste. It sold very well on Ebay.

I bought a house 2.5 years ago and it came with an electric aga. Didn’t realise how expensive it was until we had a meter fitted. With just the aga on in the summer it was £1 an hour, when you turned anything else on it shot up. Our issue though was the aga was the only heat source in there. We got a big radiator fitted along one wall, got the aga removed and bought a lacanche range with an induction hob.

The company we bought the range from took the aga out and fitted the new range. The new range was a bit smaller but we got a builder to close up the gap with very similar worktop and he filled the gaps on the sides with wood panels which we painted same colour as kitchen units. So far so good and electricity bills miles lower.

Thanks for all the replies so far. So far as induction hobs are concerned, wouldn't I need to change all my pans? Wouldn't really want to do that. The Stoves suggestion sounds good. I was reading a four year old thread similar to this one and loads of people were saying the Smegs were awful but perhaps they are better now.

Re the pans, it depends what you have, we have 11 year old le creuset stainless steel and they work fine, but we did have a copper pan that doesn’t work. I’m going to give that to a friend as it was £££ (a gift).

@oz2308 regarding induction hobs, I thought about it seriously when we had our kitchen fitted, and concluded that my saucepans were too good to replace and would be very expensive to do so if replaced with the same quality. They were also wedding presents and I'm a bit sentimental.

Regarding the AGA, I'd get rid on the basis you describe. My grandparents had one but it ran on oil and linked with the oil fired central heating. In the summer, grannie had a freestanding electric cooker.

I have fond memories of that Aga. I learnt to cook on it and because the ovens were unregulated temperature wise, you really do learn how to cook.on an aga and to sense when things are cooked by smell rather than recipe. Nothing imo compares to Aga toast.

Pragmatically, get rid.

Induction hob and electric oven are the way forward and way safer especially if you have children. Would never go back to conventional ovens having tried electric.

BTW, KEA makes induction pans etc. you don’t have to buy crueset. And they are brilliant x

Check your pans. My only issue was frying pans. Everything else worked fine.

And we do have a big range of solar panels and a storage battery but even then the cost was prohibitive

They are lovely but impractical. Ours was converted too but we felt the same and replaced it with an induction range cooker which is brilliant.

If it's electric and oven function only, then get rid.
Oil however, in combo with solar power and an electric oven + combo microwave or air fryer works really economically (We have an oil Rayburn 680K which has a larger hotplate so you can put at least 6 pans on doing various tasks at assorted temperatures, and it also does the heating and hot water). Our total energy (oil+ electricity) per year is less than £1.5k (last year was £1.2k, 50:50 on cost oil:electricity), and we get more than that back in (old, highest rate) FIT on the solar we generate.

It is only copper bottomed or pure aluminium pans which don't work. These are pretty rare in modern kitchens. Most if not all of your pans will probably work - easy to check with a magnet. If the magnet sticks they work with induction.

Thanks. What did you change to?

Would you consider an Everhot? They just plug in so no installation. Pros: They look like an Aga (and come in amazing colours) and work like an Aga ('everhot') so if you are already used to that way of cooking it will be a breeze. Plus will fit into your Aga space

You can put them on eco mode, so they are not pumping out heat at night (and they come to heat quickly in the morning).

Depending on size, there is also an induction side (I know you said not, but if you have Aga-friendly pans it's almost certain they will work with induction). You can just use induction if you turn the other side off. (Obvs you wouldn't have an oven then)

yes it is electric only. We have oil heating.

If you go for an induction hob on your range, check the power rating on your cooker circuit. We went for a standard electric hob so we didn’t have to upgrade the wiring.

Still have our coal-fired AGA. Yes, it's dirty and smelly, but it is more economical than electric. We do only light it for holidays and special occasions to be fair.

My question would be whether the heating in the kitchen is sufficient without the AGA (or something like it) being a continuous heat source.

I inherited a Lacanche range with the house. I didn’t like the colour but it was otherwise beautiful and wonderful to cook with. I now have a fully electronic esse with one hot plate and one induction hob, two electric ovens. I bought it because there’s no central heating in that part of the house, but I don’t leave it on all the time because it costs so much. I use my air fryer and the hobs to do most of the cooking now. I preferred using the lacanche, but the esse is okay once you get used to it

I have a Rangemaster Pro with 6 ring induction hob, its great (no gas here, only oil & electric) I would get rid of the aga myself, I could not be chewed with the waiting for the correct temp and so on, apart from the expense.